Just to be Left Alone by Ginny Lynn

camisole straps. I screamed for him to stop.
    He
grabbed my shoulders and shook me as he kept chanting over and over again,
“You’re mine, and you’ll always be mine”.
    Then
I woke up with Conrad gently shaking my shoulders.
    “Honey,
please wake up. It’s only a dream, a bad dream.”
    I
blinked to see Conrad staring at me with dark, concerned eyes.
    “Oh
God, I dreamt Jason was here and no matter what I did he just kept coming after
me. He wouldn’t leave me alone.”
    I
leaned into Conrad’s chest and he started rocking me.
    “It’s
okay. It was only a dream. He isn’t going to hurt you. He’s not here. I have no
intention of letting him anywhere near you again. Just try to calm down.”  
    I
started crying and I could feel his chest getting wet. Tears were running down
toward his stomach. I noticed he was sitting there with only his underwear on.
It took a little while for the tears to subside.
    When
they did he asked me, “Do you need anything?”
    “I
just need you to hold me.”
    When
I started breathing normal and his skin was dry, he leaned down to kiss my
forehead. I looked up to see the frown on his forehead. I reached up to trace
the lines between his eyes.
    “Here,
lay back and relax. I’ll stay right here while you go back to sleep.”
    I
nodded as he settled me back into my pillows, stretching out beside me. His
hand came to lie over mine against my stomach. He whispered nonsense into my
ear. I finally dozed off, in the warm cocoon of his arms.

 
    * * * *

 
    I
woke up and looked at the clock. It was 5:20. I felt a weight on my chest and
noticed Conrad’s hand there. Moving my head, I looked over at his sleeping
figure on top of the covers. His lashes were lying against his tanned skin and
his hair was tousled against the pillow. It felt right that he was here like
this. He must’ve felt me move because he opened his eyes and smiled up at me.
    “Good
morning,” he said lazily.
    “Hi.
You stayed with me all night.”
    “Yeah,
I saw you sleeping so soundly that I couldn’t bring myself to disturb you.”
    “I
appreciate it. I’m sure you have things to do before you have to go to work.
Let me at least fix you some breakfast.”
    I
started to get up, to only have him stop me.
    “No,
you have another hour before your alarm so stay in bed. I’ll grab something on
my way to work and check in with you after I get there. Just lay back down.
I’ll be out of here within the next few minutes.”
    “I
really don’t mind. It’s the least I can do after you slept here all night.”
    ”No,
it’s all right. I’ll be fine,” he assured me as he fit the covers back over me.
    “Okay,
I won’t argue with you this early in the morning. I just want you to know that
I feel like you’re trying to run away from me.”
    “I’m
not doing this to get away from you. Far from it. You don’t owe me anything,
but I do have to get to work. ”
    He
was uncomfortable and this was rushing things. I hardly knew this man, even if I
wanted him to stay with me a little longer. I needed to back up and give him
the distance that he seemed to need. I had to remember our agreement to not
move too fast while in this predicament with Jason.
    He
gave me a chaste kiss before leaving the room. I fell asleep before he even let
himself out.
    I
woke back up at six forty-five and forced open my eyes. It seemed as if I had
just talked to Conrad. I made up the bed and headed toward the shower as I
hummed. I had plenty of time to get ready and even had enough time to get my
favorite coffee on my way to the warehouse.
    I
got to work before anyone else. I had already made regular coffee for the crew
when I heard the door swing open.
    “Wow,
did we wake up on the right side of someone’s bed this morning?” Parker asked when
he saw my smile.
    “Yes,
except it was in my own bed, thank you.”
    I
kept telling myself to be less anxious about Conrad leaving so quickly. It was
too soon to analyze our